The Hawks got two very nice wins over the weekend, asserting themselves offensively against the Clippers and Knicks to build some nice momentum going into tonight's contest at Washington. Though he didn't win Player of the Week honors (Antawn Jamison got 'em), Joe Johnson was certainly deserving of consideration. His play of late - wow. The dude is shooting 57% from 3-point range in his last 8 games, and averaging 29 ppg over that span. He has raised his game at the most crucial point of the season, and it is having a carryover affect on his teammates too, as he is also checking in with 5.8 assists over that stretch as well.

Last night we saw Marvin shake out of the funk he's been in as well, torching the Knicks for 15 of his 25 in the third quarter as Atlanta took control of the contest. When both he and Joe are shooting like that from the perimeter, the Hawks are awfully tough. We'll need both of them to reprise their performances in the next two games, as the Hawks take on potential playoff-berth usurpers Washington and New Jersey.

Atlanta put a little distance between themselves and some of the teams looking for that final playoff spot over the weekend, as a glance at the standings shows Indiana is now 3 games off the pace and Charlotte 4 back. In my opinion, those teams are about done. Anything is possible, but with several teams in play for the 8th seed, I think it's too much to ask for those two teams to make up even that much distance over the span of 16 games.

Chicago is right there still, 1.5 games back of Atlanta and New Jersey, so we'll continue to include them in the "Games To Watch" segment. If any of the other teams make a run, I'll bring them back in.

As discussed in today's BasketBlog Weekly Podcast with the DC Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg, tonight's game at Washington is huge for both the Hawks and Wizards. Atlanta won at Washington earlier this season, but the Wizards returned the favor twice at Philips. A win tonight evens the season series and gives the Hawks confidence galore going into Wednesday's game at New Jersey. For the Wizards, this is their last home game before they start a brutal stretch of 7-of-8 on the road, with the one home game coming against the Pistons. Their spot in the playoffs looks reasonably secure, but a bad run over the next two weeks could potentially place that in jeopardy.

Needless to say, I expect both teams to come ready to roll tonight.

Tune in to FSN at 7:00 to catch all the action!

Games To Watch For Mar. 17

Chicago at New Orleans
Desired Outcome: Go Hornets! New Orleans beat Chicago 100-86 in the teams' previous meeting this season, and a series sweep would be helpful to the Hawks cause.
Probable Outcome: The Hornets are 24-10 at home, but will have a tougher time than normal tonight as they play the second end of a back-to-back and are dealing with injuries to Chris Paul and David West that contributed to a 105-84 loss to Detroit on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bulls steal one here.